Making Way for Buses: Guidance for Bus Priority Measures in Indian Cities

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Center of Excellence in Urban Transport (CoE-UT) have collaborated to develop a guidebook on bus priority measures in Indian cities. This study is a part of the Sustainable Urban Mobility - Air Quality, Climate Action, Accessibility (SUM-ACA) programme under the Indo-German Green Urban Mobility Partnership (GUMP) between the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) of the Government of India.

The main objective of the study is to highlight the need for prioritisation of buses in the Indian context and showcase the benefits for commuters and public transport agencies through the implementation of "Priority for Buses" measures. Effective bus priority measures improve the speed of buses to reduce journey time, enhance the reliability of buses, increase bus ridership and lift operations efficiencies. The guidebook provides an overview of various bus prioritisation measures and aims to encourage city officials and policymakers to incorporate bus priority into the city planning process by assisting in the planning and execution of the measures in their respective cities. This self-learning toolkit introduces a planning framework for the implementation of bus priority measures through a phased approach and selection of measures based on bus corridor characteristics.

To aid in determining appropriate measures for the bus corridor and understanding the benefits through its implementation, a toolkit for "Bus Priority Benefit Estimation” has been developed. It helps urban transport planners, researchers, and administrators in identifying the most suitable bus priority strategies at both the corridor and overall system levels.

To learn more, the tool and the report can be accessed below-